Skin
by Princess Alexandria
Summary: AU: A female Leech is approached about a southern belle, and asked for help. A short fic where those that can't get around Rogue's powers seek to help Rogue enjoy life in spite of them. RogueLeechf.


Skin

By Princess Alexandria

AU: Note: In this world Leech is older and female, someone that Remy hears about and hunts down.

Leech sighed as she leaned against the column and waited for the next subway train. She held up an arm and pushed the button on her watch to read the power levels on her image inducer and grimaced. It was leaking power a bit much, her battery needed replacing, but she should be able to make it home.

As a subway train ran past in the wrong direction she stared at it, looking at her reflection in the windows. A serious, tired looking woman of about twenty two stared back, her hair short and black, wearing a black biker jacket and black jeans, which weren't visible in the windows. but she knew the jeans were there. Leech looked away with a sigh and watched the flatscan upperworlders moving to and fro, like ants, unable to see each other or acknowledge one another, but still working toward the same goal. The subway tunnels weren't too crowded at this time of night, but still there were people.

Leech was an intruder here and she knew it. Her nearly broken image inducer gave her this ability, but she didn't try to live in this world, she just passed through it. Her home was still in the tunnels, but she worked in Mutant Town. Her trip between took her past these people, and hopefully her image inducer would last long enough to get home before she found herself running for it from these seemingly harmless ants, who would swarm and attack like fire ants if they knew she'd dared to infiltrate their streets.

Seeing a light in the tunnel Leech stood up and pulled her backpack over her shoulder, holding it tighter as she watched her own subway car slow. As she glanced around at the other people, perhaps five others who were waiting for this car as well and she noticed the man staring at her. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses at night, and Leech stared just a moment and nodded, recognizing a fellow mutant trying to pass long enough to get home.

He looked a little familiar; Leech thought she remembered seeing him on the street outside of the salon she worked at. That thought made her tense a little, but she covered it by stepping into the subway and moving left, to look for an empty car.

It didn't take long and she sat down heavily as she waited for it, one hand in her pocket, gripping her switchblade. That man stepped into the car and Leech held out her empty hand, fingers spread as she focused on him. He stumbled a little as his powers were cut off. "Why are you following me?" She spoke coldly.

"Oh Cheri," He sighed and finished stepping inside. "Remy heard you could turn off a mutants power." This made her relax a little. Mutants had sought her out for that before.

"It doesn't last long. It only works near me." She still kept her hand on the switchblade but she didn't move as he took the seat across from her. "I've got a short range and without me powering it, a short duration." She sighed at the man. "I can't cure you, it isn't a disease."

"That's not what I'm asking Cheri." He moved rather gracefully, leaning forward. Leech gripped her knife tighter and waited. "I want you to look at something." He reached into his pocket and Leech's slow relaxing stopped as her heart pounded. Her powers wrapped around him, stifling him as her hand came out of her pocket holding her knife menacingly. He slowed down, almost comicly if Leech weren't so nervous she might have laughed. "Just a picture cheri." He slowly brought his hand back out and a picture was in his hands. Leech didn't put the knife away, but she relaxed that arm as she used the other to take the photo.

She glanced at it, but kept him in sight. "Pretty." She muttered and gave him a hard stare. "So why am I looking at a pretty pretty?"

"Her name is Rogue." He sat back, now looking more relaxed. Her knife arm moved to rest on her thigh as she glanced at the pretty woman again, searching for answers he wasn't giving her. "She can't seem to control her powers, and she can't touch anyone because of them."

"I told you I can't stop it." Leech looked down at the woman's picture, taking in the pretty eyes and skin, and her soft looking hair. Was a shame, but Leech couldn't wave a magic wand and make her touchable.

"you turned my powers off, and I heard you turn powers off sometimes to cut hair." He sat forward a little, but wasn't reaching for the photo just yet. "She needs touch."

Leech's eyebrows drew together and she looked up at him. "You want to touch her I'd need to be there and I don't play that way." She shook her head at the strange images her mind was filling in on what the man probably wanted. That Rogue might be better off being untouchable than being with a man this obsessed with making it happen.

He sighed and his shoulders sagged. "Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything for them? Have you ever had to stand back and watch someone you love slowly going mad from loneliness and been unable to help?" He reached up and took his sunglasses off, showing red and black eyes that looked a little watery. "No one should be dat lonely cheri, and even surrounded by people, dat filly is alone."

Leech stared at him a moment, a little surprised by his emotions and that lone tear that wanted to fall. "We're all alone." She spoke quietly in protest. Her own pain and loneliness was proof enough.

"She can't hug, she can't touch, and she can't make love." He took a deep breath. "Remy can't fix dis, but you could."

"My powers don't work that way." Leech shook her head and put her knife away. She was convinced he wasn't dangerous, just hurting. "She seems pretty, and sad, but what can I do?"

"Remy wants you to date her." The man spoke strangely and Leech's eyes widened in shock.

She stared down at the picture again and shook her head. "She's a pretty pretty Remy," She guessed that was his name. "An upworlder. I'm not." She looked up at him and stared. "I live in these tunnels for a reason."

"She not so shallow as to not look deeper." He told her and Leech shook her head, while reaching for her watch. She stared right at him as she turned it off.

Her skin was green, and her eyes were larger than normal, giving her an almost anime appearance. She stared at him. "No, I think you'll find a pretty pretty like her, like you, won't look twice at a Morlock like me." She glared down at the picture, hurting at the fantasy that she'd almost let grow. "Take another picture Remy and show it to her. I'd bet money I won't see you again." She was a little surprised when he did pull out a cell phone and took one. "Now, if you don't mind I think this is my stop."

"She not so shallow Cheri." He called after her as she moved to the door while putting the inducer back on.

"She's not so desperate." She called back and stepped out the door.

…………………………..

Leech heard the front door bell from her spot in the back and could hear her co-worker greeting the customer while she put her image inducer back together. She'd bought a new battery on the way in and while she didn't need it here she did need it operational.

A few moments later a head slipped past the backroom curtain. "We have another untouchable." Leech was told and she turned to the mirror and checked her own appearance, fixing her hair and sighing at the rest.

As she stepped out into the open she noticed the brown-red mane and then as the woman turned the small stripe of white. Leech quickly looked into the woman's face and her step faltered as she recognized her. Rogue looked a little nervous, but the woman smiled gently at her. "Ah'm Rogue." The woman spoke and her southern accent was a little bit of a surprise. Leech stopped in front of the woman, just out of reach and struggled to remember what she normally did now. Seeing a woman she fully expected to never see was a shock.

"I'm a power dampener. I can cut your hair, no matter what power keeps you from having the others do it, but my power dampens all of yours." This was her typical disclaimer, and she'd said it enough that she could recite it without paying to much attention to her own words right now. No, her mind was on whether Rogue had talked with Remy, if this was merely a coincidence, or if Rogue were here to meet her. It seemed more likely it would be a polite brush off, but Leech swallowed hard and stayed professional. "After contact it may take up to ten minutes for you to recover your powers. I will claim no responsibility to what may happen to you without your powers. If you are invincible and you leave here and get hit by a truck and are hurt, I am not liable."

"You had trouble with that?" Rogue asked a familiar question and Leech relaxed a little.

"Not yet, but the lawyers force me to say it." Leech smiled just a little, the polite work smile. "So, if I haven't scared you off." Leech cringed a little inside at her normal words taking a second meaning with this woman. "Shall we head back to my station?"

Leech led the way past the other stylists and towards the hall. Her station was separate from the others, just as her room in the tunnels was away from others. No mutant wanted to accidentally get their powers turned off. Leech glanced at the gloves on Rogue's hands, and up her arms for a moment and spoke a little softer. "You can take those off if you want."

Rogue was very hesitant to do it, but Leech watched as the woman pulled them off and put them in her lap as she sat down on the chair. "Ah normally get my hair done in Salem Center, but a woman that wears gloves to help me." Rogue spoke quietly.

"I don't need gloves." Leech answered while putting the cape over Rogue to keep the hair off of her. When she moved to fasten it, she noticed Rogue take a shaky breath as Leech's fingers brushed against her neck. Leech stared a moment, and started to wonder if maybe Rogue really was that desperate. If maybe Rogue was here to ask for more. It was rather sad really, that such a pretty pretty would feel forced to sleep with someone that looked like Leech if she wanted to be touched at all, Leech thought as she looked away to glance at her tools. "So is it a trim, or are you after a real change?"

The trim went very quickly as Leech focused on being like she normally was, giving the untouchable a few small touches, like she normally did with clients who had powers that rendered them so separate from everyone else. Things like brushing small pieces of hair off of a neck or face with her fingers, or massaging her scalp. These were small things that she normally did, but this time it made her nervous to do it.

At first Rogue tried to chat, awkwardly, but she attempted. As the subtle touches happened Rogue gave up and just stared into the mirror and Leech suspected Rogue was staring at Leech's hands on her.

As soon as it was over Leech took Rogue to pay and left her with the cashier. Her shift was over and she wanted to get out of there before Rogue thought to say anything, because Leech didn't want to be with the desperate. It was romantic and unrealistic, but she wanted someone to actually want her, not just want someone, and it was looking like Remy might be right and Rogue might be willing, but willing wasn't enough.

She wasn't out the door and past the front of the building before the woman came out the door and seemed to half run up to her. "Leech." Damn, Leech thought, because the pretty pretty was mighty tempting.

"Leech." Rogue seemed a bit nervous as she came up beside her. "Ah know you talked with Remy." The woman blushed a painful looking red. "Ah just want you to know that Ah didn't know he'd do that, and Ah, well, Ah was mighty mad at him for it." Leech flinched a little. "Ah can't just be with anyone just because they can touch me." Rogue's words hurt a little. "But Ah wouldn't mind getting to know someone to see if Ah would want that touch." Her words were softer and Leech turned to stare at her.

"I won't wear my image inducer during sex." Leech said, her own words hurting, as she remembered one person who had once suggested she do that. Rogue looked a little shocked, and then her expression softened. Leech hated that she suspected it was pity that caused that.

"Ah don't see why you'd need to. You have lovely doe-eyes." Rogue reached out, her hand shaking a little and the gloves were still missing. Rogue touched the side of Leech's face near her eyes once, a small caress like the touches Leech gave to clients. "Ah think it makes you look sweet."

"Sweet?" Leech gave a bitter laugh, but Rogue's fingers moved to cup her cheek. This was a lot of touch for an untouchable.

"Sweet." Rogue's voice was firmer.

"I have to turn my image inducer on to leave this neighborhood." Leech said bitterly. "What you call sweet others call monstrous."

"Ah can't speak for their blindness Sugar, but I think you look tender, sweet, and your eyes are so expressive." Rogue protested again and Leech felt her heart hurting as she started to wonder if Rogue was telling the truth. Part of her believed it, and it seemed unbelievable.


End file.
